
Force transmission between cells orchestrates collective cellular motion
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How do the billions of cells communicate in order to perform tasks? The cells exert force on their environment through movement - and in doing so, they communicate. They work as a group in order to infiltrate their environment, perform wound healing and the like. They sense the stiffness or softness of their surroundings and this helps them connect and organize their collective effort. But when the connection between cells is distrubeddisturbed, a situation just like when cancer is initiated, can appear.
The uncontrolled growth and division of cells can lead to the creation of tumours. The signalling molecule SHP2 is believed to play a crucial role in this process. But the question of how SHP2 becomes activated has never been fully resolved. Understanding the activation mechanism is, however, of fundamental importance for the development of anti-cancer drugs. Massimiliano Anselmi and Jochen Hub have recently managed to solve the twenty-year-old puzzle of SHP2 activation.
Researchers from Osaka University and JOANNEUM RESEARCH develop ultrathin piezoelectric flexible patches that harvest the body's energy to monitor the patient's pulse and blood pressure. This work may lead to novel biosensors and self-powered wearable electronics.
In new research appearing in the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, Scott Sayres and his research group describe their investigations into the molecular dynamics of titania clusters. Such research is a basic step toward the development of more efficient photocatalysts.
An international team led by a Skoltech researcher has developed a method of fabrication for biodegradable polymer microcapsules, made more efficient by turning to an unusual source of inspiration - traditional Russian dumpling, or pelmeni, making.
The conversion of light into chemical energy by plants and photosynthetic microorganisms is one of the most important processes in nature, removing climate-damaging CO2 from the atmosphere. Protein complexes, so-called photosystems, play the key role in this process. An international research team shed light for the first time on the structure and function of a transition state in the synthesis of photosystem II.
Researchers at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) led by Samuel Sanchez achieve a breakthrough in the field of biological robots by developing new biobots based on muscle cells that can swim at unprecedented velocities. These biobots also react to electrical stimuli and exert surprising forces thanks to their self-training with a 3D printed smart skeleton, opening the door to a new generation of stronger and faster biological robots based on muscle cells.
A new paper is the first to study the effects of advanced shoe technology on the performance of elite long-distance runners. Researchers found that the new footwear, featuring lightweight foam and a rigid plate in the midsole, significantly reduced race times for both men and women. Female runners benefited most, shaving about 2 minutes and 10 seconds off marathon times, which represents a 1.7 percent boost in performance.
Researchers from the Netherlands have created a new approach to envision how dinosaurs walked. By modeling a T. rex tail as a suspension bridge, the scientists formed a new idea of the animal's walking speed. Trix, the tyrannosaur from Naturalis museum in the Netherlands, probably strolled slower - but with more spring in its step - than assumed. This is a first step towards more realistic dinosaur motion.
A new study led by University of Washington researchers borrowed image-analysis methods from engineering to spot the minute movements of a stony coral.